ATP Brisbane: Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic kick off season in style
The world no. 19 Grigor Dimitrov will give his best to leave the poor 2018 behind him as soon as possible, defeating Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3 6-4 in an hour and 19 minutes. A former champion played a solid match despite some problems on the second serve, fending off six out of seven break points he faced to keep the pressure on the Japanese who couldn't deal with it, getting broken three times from as many chances he offered to the Bulgarian to hit the exit door. Dimitrov had to dig deep early on, saving five break points in games one and three to stay on the positive side of the scoreboard before he won four points in a row on the return in game four to break Nishioka and forge the lead.
Both players served well in the rest of the set and Grigor held everything under control, dropping only one point in the last three service games to seal the opener with a hold at love at 5-3 after 41 minutes. Nishioka created a break point in the fourth game of the second set but Dimitrov denied it with a good serve, moving ahead in the very next game following a forehand winner and firing an ace in game six to cement the lead and push himself closer to the finish line. The Japanese got broken at love in game seven but he pulled one break back after a double fault from Grigor in the following game while serving for the match, which is never a good sign.
Still, he served for the win again at 5-4 and this time he held after a deuce to ensure the triumph and the place in the second round, seeking much-needed confidence before heading to Melbourne for the first Grand Slam of the season. 2016 Brisbane champion Milos Raonic enjoyed an easy day at the office, toppling Aljaz Bedene 6-0, 6-3 in just 47 minutes after a superb performance on serve, landing 76% of the first serve in, blasting 18 aces and dropping six points in total behind the initial shot! With nothing to work with on the return, Bedene was beaten badly in his games as well, allowing Raonic almost 60% of the points on the return and suffering four breaks from eight opportunities he gave to the Canadian.
The first set lasted just 16 minutes and it will certainly be among the most one-sided in the entire season, with Bedene winning just four points in almost a perfect bagel that Raonic kicked off the season with. The Slovenian raised his level in the second set and he suffered just one break in the sixth game, saving two match points at 2-5 before Milos wrapped up an impressive win with another good hold a few minutes later. The 19-year-old qualifier Miomir Kecmanovic scored his first ATP win, ousting Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 6-1 in just 61 minutes!
A former junior no. 1 and Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl champion finished 2018 season with a Challenger title and he is looking sharp at the start of the new season as well, losing just 11 points on serve against the Argentinian and saving the only break point he faced to mount the pressure on the other side of the net. Mayer lost half of the points in his games and he got broken four times from eight opportunities he gave to Miomir, losing serve in the very first game of the match and never looking back. Leading 4-3, Kecmanovic saved a break point to maintain the advantage and he converted the fifth set point in the next game for a 6-3 and the confidence boost before set number two. There, he lost two points in four service games and broke Leonardo at love in games two and six before sealing the deal on own serve a few minutes later for the milestone ATP win.
First round results:
[Q]Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) vs Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 6-3 6-1 [5]Milos Raonic (CAN) vs Aljaz Bedene (SLO) 6-0 6-3 [Q]Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN) vs [Q]Ugo Humbert (FRA) 6-4 7-6(6) [6]Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) vs Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) 6-3 6-4 John Millman (AUS) vs Tennys Sandgren (USA) 7-6(6) 6-7(6) 6-0
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2SvdRyg
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